lookeddownwhenhis opponent spoke and sometimes appeared angry orpeevish.romneykepthis eyes glued on the president, waiting to jump in. today, mr. obama delivered some of the comebacks he missed last night. >> he said he would eliminate funding for public television. ( laughter ) ( booing ) that was his answer. i mean, thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on big bird. it's about time. we didn't know that big bird was driving the federal deficit. >> reporter: so the question now is does the campaign send the president back to debate camp? earlier this week, he described it as a drag, and, scott, one source close to the white house tells us the president appeared irritated during debate prep in nevada, a common affliction for presidents who aren't used to being challenged face to face. >> pelley: we're going to switch now to jan crawford who is covering the renewed romney campaign tonight, jan. >> >> reporter: scott, romney had gotten off his message the past few weeks and conservatives criticized him for not being tough enough on the president. last night he silenced

with the president andgovernorromneyonthe campaign trail. mr. president, the race as we speak is essentially tied. i wonder, do you think this is going to come down to the debates? >> well, i don't think that any single factor ends up making a big difference. i think the debates will matter to some undecided voters and to the extent that we present a very clear choice for the american people hopefully we'll be able to tease out what's at stake in this election. but i think the economy is still going to have a lot of bearing on it. overall, though, what i think is going to matter most to people is who do they think is going to be a strong and effective advocate on behalf of their hopes and their dreams? >> pelley: you could get asked any question under the sun at the debates. how do you prepare for that? >> well, the nice thing about having been president is i've been dealing with just about every issue for the last four years. so a lot of preparation for me is just trying to get back into game shape, as they say. hopefully what i'm going to be able to do is just present my case as effectively as